Method and system of handling the selection of alternates for recognized words

ABSTRACT

In a computing device that receives handwritten data, a method and system that facilitates the selection of alternates for a hand written word. A mechanism uses rules to select a word for the user based on the operating mode (state) of the system. In a cursor operating mode, a word is selected and the alternates are provided for the word based on the position of on screen cursor relative to the word (within or adjacent the word). If not on a word having alternates, the selection can move to another word that has alternates. If multiple words are selected, (selection mode), the system selects the first word of those selected that has alternates. Menu options to go to the next or previous recognized word may also be placed on the menu for easy navigation among words, and a user can automatically walk through multiple word sets to receive alternates for each word, one-word at a time. Words that the recognizer believes correct to a high actual or relative probability may be skipped over in the automatic process, and the display of words that the recognizer is less confident are correct can be modified. The user can adjust such sensitivity settings for determining the probability of correctness.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to computer devices, and moreparticularly computer devices arranged to receive handwritten input.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Contemporary computing devices allow users to enter handwritten words(e.g., in cursive handwriting and/or printed handwritten characters) andsymbols (e.g., a character in Far East languages). The words and symbolscan be used as is, e.g., to function as readable notes and so forth, orcan be converted to text for more conventional computer uses. To convertto text, for example, as a user writes strokes representing words orother symbols onto a touch-sensitive computer screen or the like, ahandwriting recognizer (e.g., trained with millions of samples,employing a dictionary, context and other rules) is able to convert thehandwriting data into dictionary words or symbols. In this manner, usersare able to enter textual data without necessarily needing a keyboard.

Contemporary handwriting recognizers are not one hundred percentaccurate in recognizing words. Because of this, one type of recognizerreturns a list of alternates, ranked according to probability by therecognizer. Via a user interface, systems may provide a list of thesealternates, from which the user can select a different word instead ofthe word the recognizer initially guessed as the one that the user mostlikely intended.

However, alternates are provided on a per word basis, and many users donot at first recognize this concept. As a result, when a user is seekingalternates for a given word, the user often becomes confused because thealternates provided upon menu selection often do not appear tocorrespond to the word for which the user wants to select an alternate.In general, selection of alternates has not heretofore been astraightforward or intuitive operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Briefly, the present invention provides a method and system forfacilitating the selection of alternates by selecting a word for theuser based on the cursor position and/or state of the system. In oneembodiment, if the user places the cursor on the screen within a word(or just outside a word) having alternates and requests an alternateselection operation, a mechanism incorporating a set of rules selectsthat word, prior to bringing up the menu of alternates, based on thecursor location. If multiple words are selected, the system selects thefirst word of those selected that has an alternate. Menu options to goto the next or previous recognized word may also be placed on the menufor easy navigation among words.

Optional enhancements include enabling a user to automatically walkthrough multiple word sets to receive alternates therefor, one-word at atime, thereby avoiding the need for individual manual selection of eachword. Words that the recognizer believes correct to a high actualprobability (or high relative probability) may be skipped over in theautomatic process; the user can adjust such sensitivity settings.Another optional enhancement includes modifying the display to reflectwords that the recognizer is less confident are correct, (e.g.,underlining with wavy colored lines), to emphasize to the user thepossibility of incorrect recognition for such lower probability words.

Other advantages will become apparent from the following detaileddescription when taken in conjunction with the drawings, in which:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram representing one exemplary computer systeminto which the present invention may be incorporated;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram generally representing components and datastructures for handling electronic ink handwritten into a computersystem and capable of implementing the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a representation of how handwritten data and text data isgenerally maintained by an ink processor;

FIG. 4 is a representation of the contents of an example text buffer andhow it is displayed to a user;

FIG. 5 is a representation of the contents of the example text buffer ofFIG. 4 as modified once an ink word has been converted to text;

FIG. 6 is a representation of one way in which alternates can beselected for words that have alternates, in accordance with one aspectof the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a representation of an ink word data structure once alternateshave been returned by a recognizer for an ink word;

FIG. 8 is a flow diagram generally describing logic implementing rulesfor determining which word to provide alternates for to a user inaccordance with one aspect of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram generally describing logic for handlingalternate selection for multiple words in accordance with another aspectof the present invention; and

FIG. 10 is a representation of one way in which at least some wordshaving alternates may be presented to a user.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Exemplary Operating Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a suitable operating environment 20 inwhich the invention may be implemented. The operating environment 20 isonly one example of a suitable operating environment and is not intendedto suggest any limitation as to the scope of use or functionality of theinvention. Other well known computing systems, environments, and/orconfigurations that may be suitable for use with the invention include,but are not limited to, personal computers, server computers, hand-heldor laptop devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based systems,programmable consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframecomputers, distributed computing environments that include any of theabove systems or devices, and the like.

The invention may be described in the general context ofcomputer-executable instructions, such as program modules, executed byone or more computers or other devices. Generally, program modulesinclude routines, programs, objects, components, data structures and soforth that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstractdata types. Typically, the functionality of the program modules may becombined or distributed as desired in various embodiments.

Computing device 20 typically includes at least some form ofcomputer-readable media. Computer-readable media can be any availablemedia that can be accessed by the computing device 20. By way ofexample, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprisecomputer storage media and communication media. Computer storage mediaincludes volatile and nonvolatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage of information suchas computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules orother data. Computer storage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM,ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or any other medium which can be used to store the desired informationand which can accessed by the computing device 20. Communication mediatypically embodies computer readable instructions, data structures,program modules or other data in a modulated data signal such as acarrier wave or other transport mechanism and includes any informationdelivery media. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that hasone or more of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as toencode information in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared and other wireless media. Combinations of the any of the aboveshould also be included within the scope of computer readable media.

FIG. 1 shows functional components of one such handheld computing device20, including a processor 22, a memory 24, a display 26, and a keyboard28 (which may be a physical or virtual keyboard). The memory 24generally includes both volatile memory (e.g., RAM) and non-volatilememory (e.g., ROM, PCMCIA cards, and so forth). An operating system 30is resident in the memory 24 and executes on the processor 22. Thehandheld personal computer 20 includes an operating system, such as theWindows® CE operating system from Microsoft® Corporation or otheroperating system.

One or more application programs 32 are loaded into memory 24 and run onthe operating system 30. Examples of applications include emailprograms, scheduling programs, PIM (personal information management)programs, word processing programs, spreadsheet programs, Internetbrowser programs, and so forth. The handheld personal computer 20 mayalso include a notification manager 34 loaded in the memory 24, whichexecutes on the processor 22. The notification manager 34 handlesnotification requests, e.g., from the application programs 32.

The handheld personal computer 20 has a power supply 36, which isimplemented as one or more batteries. The power supply 36 may furtherinclude an external power source that overrides or recharges thebuilt-in batteries, such as an AC adapter or a powered docking cradle.

The exemplary handheld personal computer 20 represented in FIG. 1 isshown with three types of external notification mechanisms: one or morelight emitting diodes (LEDs) 40, and an audio generator 44. Thesedevices may be directly coupled to the power supply 36 so that whenactivated, they remain on for a duration dictated by a notificationmechanism even though the handheld personal computer processor 22 andother components might shut down to conserve battery power. The LED 40preferably remains on indefinitely until the user takes action. Notethat contemporary versions of the audio generator 44 use too much powerfor today's handheld personal computer batteries, and so it isconfigured to turn off when the rest of the system does or at somefinite duration after activation.

Selection of Alternates

FIG. 2 represents general components of the computing system 20 whenconfigured for handwriting recognition in accordance with one aspect ofthe present invention. In FIG. 2, as a user enters data such as bytyping or by handwriting data on the touch screen display 26, inputcircuitry and/or other components 50 pass the information to theoperating system 30. Depending on the state of the system and/or wherethe screen is contacted, the user input may be converted to text by theoperating system or treated as handwritten data. For example, when thescreen has a representation of a keyboard displayed thereon and thatkeyboard is touched, the coordinates may be converted to an ASCII orUnicode character, or an editing command, and sent to an appropriatecomponent (e.g. word processor) to use. Alternatively, if the user iswriting in a handwriting input area, the input circuitry 50/operatingsystem 32 passes the data to an ink processor component 54 to processand otherwise handle the electronic ink data. Note that a user may enterthe handwritten data (electronic ink) in another manner, such as via atablet connected to a personal computer.

As is understood, the handwritten data may be in the form ofcoordinates, and may include other information, e.g., pressure data,timing data and so forth. The ink processor component 54 may comprise anapplication program, or alternatively may be a subcomponent of orintegrated into the operating system 30. The ink processor 54 may alsobe arranged to pass characters, (e.g., Unicode), whether typed orrecognized from words or symbols, to conventional applications that canonly deal with characters. For purposes of the present description, theink processing component 54 will also perform the operations of aconventional word processor, e.g., handle both recognized text andunrecognized ink, allow the editing of words, both text words andhandwritten words, update the display 26 (e.g., to word-wrap, mark orinsert text or words, delete words) as appropriate, and so forth.

After some pre-processing, such as described in related copending U.S.patent application entitled: “Method and System of Matching InkProcessor and Recognizer Word Breaks,” U.S. patent application Ser. No.09/643,417 filed concurrently with and hereby incorporated by reference,the ink processor 54 passes ink data (e.g., one line as entered by auser) corresponding to words or symbols to a recognizer 58 forrecognition thereof. The ink processor 54 may also provide ink featureinformation. Depending on factors such as the system's processing speedand processor/memory availability and so forth, and/or a user's explicitrequest for recognition, the data passing and/or recognition may takeplace in the background or foreground, as appropriate. In keeping withthe present invention as described below, the recognizer 58 returnsalternates information 60 corresponding to recognized word or words forthe ink passed thereto. In general, the alternates information 60comprises a list of alternate word choices, or simply alternates(sometimes referred to as candidates), for each word recognized by therecognizer 58 for a given set of handwriting data passed thereto. Thealternates may be ranked in accordance with probability of correctness,and/or probability information associated with each alternate may bereturned in the alternates information 60. For example, a list ofalternates may be returned with a highest ranked alternate having asixty percent probability, the next ranked alternate with a ten percentprobability, and so on. The number of returned alternates may be limitedto some fixed amount, and/or alternates with very low probabilities maybe left off the list. Note that the probability information may bereturned on a logarithmic scale instead of in terms of a percentagevalue. One suitable recognizer is described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,313,527and 5,467,407, hereby incorporated by reference. However, as will beunderstood, the present invention will operate with any type ofrecognizer that returns alternates, including a speech recognizer.

As generally represented in FIG. 2, the ink processor 54 maintains oneor more text buffers 62 ₁₋₆₂ _(m). Each text buffer (e.g. 62 ₁) is adata structure storing some or all of the contents of a document, suchas individual letters, spaces, inked words, and drawings. For example, atext buffer can store the entire contents of a document, or each of aplurality of text buffers can represent one paragraph in a document.

To indicate an inked word, the text buffer (e.g., 62 ₁) also containsspecial codes that indicate the locations of ink words 64 ₁-64 _(n)relative to text and other items in the text buffer 62 ₁. Each such codeis directly followed by a pointer to the ink word data structure(sometimes referred to as a scrawl) that contains the ink data for thatword.

By way of example, FIG. 3 represents a text buffer (e.g., 62 ₁) withmemory (e.g., bytes) for text, possibly other items, and special inkword codes (IW₁ and IW₂), each code followed by its respective pointerto ink words 64 ₁-64 ₂. As shown in FIG. 3, the pointers are two bytesin length, but of course pointers of other sizes are feasible. FIG. 4shows how the text buffer 62 ₁ (shown in FIG. 4 as a linear array) andits ink word data structures 64 ₁-64 ₂ may be interpreted by the inkprocessor to result in a particular display, prior to the two ink words64 ₁-64 ₂ having been converted to their text form.

As generally represented in FIG. 3, each ink word, such as the ink word64 ₁ is a data structure having a header 66 which describes the ink datasection 68 following it. One of the things tracked in the header 66 iswhether an ink word has alternates (i.e., the ink was sent to therecognizer with the alternates information returned for it) in aRecognized (tsRecognized) flag. In addition to the header field 66 andink data field 68, other fields are possible, such as an other datafield 70 followed by a tail structure field 72 that describes the otherfield 70. For example, the other field may include the alternates andprobability information associated with those alternates as returned bythe recognizer 58 following recognition. The maintenance and use of thealternates, and the tail structure, are described below and furtherdescribed in related copending U.S. patent applications: Ser. No.09/643,414 entitled “Method and System for Maintaining Alternated inAssociation with Recognized Words”; Ser. No. 09/643,617 entitled “Methodand System for Searching for Words in Ink Word Documents”; and Ser. No.09/643,997 entitled “Method and System for Extending Ink Word DataStructures while Maintaining Version Compatibility” filed concurrentlyherewith and hereby incorporated by reference.

The following table sets forth an ink word data structure (scrawl)including the tail structure:

// The Ink Word Structure typedef struct TXT_SCRAWL { U8 flags; U8candidateChoice; //index of chosen candidate //zero based INK_STYLEinkStyle; COORD16 width; U16 strokeCount; U16 bufferSize; U8 buffer[2];//padded for alignment // first comes the array of strokes //then comesa double null terminated list of strings //at the very end is aTXT_SCRAWL_TAIL struct } TXT_SCRAWL, FAR * P_TEXT_SCRAWL; // this bufferis appended onto the scrawl to optimize // getting to strings. Forcompatibility reasons, it grows // from the beginning, not the end ofthe tail structure, // since a negative addressing scheme from the textscrawl // end is used to get to its members typedef structTXT_SCRAWL_TAIL { U32 tailStructVersion; //starts at 1 and grows//upwards; U32 stringAreaOffset; //offset from beginning //of TXT_SCRAWLto the //start of the double //null terminated string //list. U32chosenStringOffset; //offset from beginning //of TXT_SCRAWL to the//chosen string. U16 wchFirstXlateChar; //first char of the //chosenstring. // ADD ANY NEW MEMBERS AT THE END } TXT_SCRAWL_TAIL *P_TEXT_SCRAWL_TAIL;

For purposes of simplicity herein, the present invention will primarilybe described with respect to handwritten cursive words, using theEnglish language for various examples. However, as will be understood,the present invention may operate with printed characters and symbols,and provides numerous benefits regardless of any particular language.

One of the operations performed by the ink word processor 54 is tomanage the alternates returned by the recognizer 58. To this end, asgenerally represented in FIG. 2, the ink processor 54 includes code thatserves as an alternates handling mechanism 76. In one generalimplementation, following recognition of a word, the alternates handlingmechanism 76 maintains the alternate information within an ink word datastructure of the text buffer. Once a word has an alternate selected, theink word data structure is displayed as the first letter of the selectedalternate, with any remaining letters being inserted as text into thetext buffer. Thus, using the example shown in FIG. 4, once an alternateis selected, the ink word storing the data for “hand” will be convertedto an ink word that if displayed as text will appear as the letter “h”followed by the text letters “and” in the text buffer, as generallyrepresented in FIG. 5. In this manner, the ink data and alternates arepreserved with the word, e.g., as the word is moved around during wordprocessing operations. Note that the initial recognition may occur inthe background, without the user's knowledge, e.g., in oneimplementation, the handwritten ink is still displayed to a user ashandwritten until the user affirmatively requests a “Recognize” command(actual recognizer recognition may have already been performed), atwhich time text will replace the handwritten ink. In this instance, themost probable alternate will be automatically selected and initiallydisplayed to the user, with the user being able to go back and select adifferent alternate in place of the most probable. As described below,by maintaining the ink data with the word, the user can toggle betweenink and text display for such words, and select among the alternates, atleast until the user does some action (e.g., saves the document) thatmakes the conversion to text permanent. Nevertheless, various ways ofmaintaining alternate information in association with an ink word arefeasible, and will work with the present invention. However for purposesof the description herein, the alternates will be described as beingstored within the first letter of a recognized word, with the remainingletters being inserted as text into the text buffer following the word.

FIG. 6 generally represents the alternate information from which a usermay select requesting an “Alternates” operation. As described above, theactual recognition may already have taken place in a backgroundoperation without the user's knowledge, or the user may have expresslyconverted handwritten input to text (e.g., in a foreground recognitionoperation) via a “Tools” menu selection which has a “Recognize” command(or sub-menu) thereunder. The user may then request alternates for theconverted words, such as via a “Tools:Alternates” command. Note that itis feasible to have the alternates for a word automatically displayed aspart of the foreground recognition operation, e.g., after the words in adocument (or some subset thereof) are converted to text by therecognizer, the user may be automatically given alternates for each suchword, instead of having the most likely alternate initially selected anddisplayed for the user. In any event, as described below, the user'saction that provides a list of alternates from which to select with bereferred to herein as “alternate selection” or the like. However, ratherthan require the user to separately request alternate selection for eachindividual word, a system that automatically advances to a next (oroptionally previous) word for alternate selection thereof by the user isalso described below.

As generally represented in FIG. 6, the user may be presented on thedisplay 26 with a menu list 80 of alternate words from which to select,such as ranked by probability. The user may also be presented with theoriginal ink or some representation thereof, such that the user can goback to the handwritten ink for a word that is presently being displayedas text. Optionally, the user may also be given selections to move thealternate selection to the next or previous word instead of making aselection. Alternative ways of presenting the alternates (e.g., alongthe bottom of the display 26) are also feasible.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, the editingstate of the device along with the cursor (caret) position, if present,determines which word will be chosen when a user requests alternateselection. In general, alternate selection occurs on one word at a time,and the present invention (e.g., as implemented in the alternateshandling mechanism 76) determines which word this is, and may also mayvisually indicate to the user which word this is. In this manner,alternates are made available to the user, and at the same time, theuser is trained that alternates apply to a single word.

In general, if the user places the cursor on the screen within a word orjust outside a word, (cursor mode), that word is selected when the userrequests alternate selection (e.g., via the “Tools:Alternates” action).As described above, the selected word may be visibly changed, i.e.,selected as “marked” as generally represented by the dashed box aroundthe handwritten word “hand” in FIG. 6, in conjunction with bringing upthe alternate selection menu 80. If the word is not an ink word, theprocess can inform the user that there are no alternates (or evendisable the “Tools:Alternates” action in advance), or, as describedbelow, advance to the next ink word, if any. However, as can be readilyappreciated, many various ways of handling the enabling/disabling of themenu are possible. For example, the menu may be always enabled, and ifnothing is selected, the entire document may be scanned upon invokingthe Tools:Alternates” command, possibly also causing any unrecognizedwords to be sent to the recognizer to convert to text and receivealternates for it.

If a set of one or more words are selected, (selection mode, in contrastto the cursor mode), e.g., by a pen down and drag operation, the systemselects the first word having alternates in the set and selects thatword. Note that another, more appropriate word could be selected, e.g.,depending on the language, however in the English language, selectingthe first word makes the most sense. Selecting a single word may includeactual selection of the word that deselects the rest of the markeddocument area, as one benefit of selecting a single word is that ittrains the user that alternatives are associated with the single word.However, the user's initial selection information may be preserved so asto enable automatic alternate selection of multiple words, one word at atime, as described below. Note that if a moving selection is not used,then narrowing the selection to a single word will provide feedback tothe user that the operation is only valid for single words, and help theuser to better use the program in the future.

As in the cursor mode, when in selection mode, if there are no ink wordshaving alternates in the selected area, the process can inform the userthat there are no words with alternates as described below, (oralternatively disable the “Tools:Alternates” action in advance). Menuoptions to go to the next or previously recognized word are optionallyplaced on the menu 80 for easy navigation. Further, note that if thesystem is in a state wherein there are no words selected, and no cursoris available, then the alternates feature may be disabled, e.g., the“Tools:Alternates” command is grayed out and deactivated.

Once a word is recognized and converted to text, the ink processor 54displays the ink word data structure differently. To correctly interpretthe ink word data structure, as represented in FIG. 7, the alternateshandling mechanism 76 works with flags in the header 66 ₁ of the inkword data structure 64 ₁, the aforementioned Recognized flag(tsRecognized) which indicates whether the recognizer has returned thealternates and stored them in the ink word data structure, and a ShowRecognized flag (tsShowRecognized) which indicates whether a user hasconverted ink to text. The ink processor 54 uses these flags todetermine whether it needs to contact the recognizer 58 to obtainalternate information, and also to determine whether to display the inkword as ink or as text. If the word is to be displayed as text, (e.g.,Show Recognized flag equals one), only the first character (“h” in thepresent example, stored in the tail structure 72 ₁) of the selectedalternate is displayed. As described above with reference to FIG. 5, thesucceeding letters of the word (“and” in the present example of the word“hand”) are inserted into the text buffer as ordinary text immediatelyfollowing the ink word. The user may select another alternate asdescribed below, or convert back to an ink word.

Turning to an explanation of the operation of the present invention withparticular reference to the flow diagram of FIG. 8, in FIG. 8, a userhas requested alternate selection, e.g., via the “Tools:Alternates”command. Note that the steps of FIG. 8 are to show the general logic ofhow alternate selection, and the present invention may be executed inmany different ways. Further, for purposes of simplicity, FIG. 8 assumesthat the entire document is in one text buffer, however as will bereadily appreciated, it is straightforward to modify the steps describedin FIG. 8 to handle a document comprising multiple text buffers (e.g.,one per paragraph).

At step 800, the ink processor 54 tests the state that it is in, e.g.,whether it is in cursor mode or whether text has been selected(selection mode). If in selection mode, the alternates handlingmechanism 76 backs up (e.g., moves an internal pointer in the textbuffer 62) to the start of the selected text at step 802, and thenadvances to step 810 (described below). Note that the mechanism 76 mayuse the cursor as the internal pointer as desired, and if so, may wishto preserve the cursor position to restore it later, e.g., if the usercancels the alternate selection request.

If instead at step 800 a cursor is present, e.g., the device is in thecursor mode with a caret displayed, step 800 branches to step 804. Step804 tests whether the caret is on an ink word, i.e., whether the nextcharacter in the text buffer 62 indicates an ink word. If so, theprocess branches ahead to select that word at step 818, as describedbelow. Otherwise, it is possible at step 804 that the user's cursor iswithin the letters of an ink word that has been converted to text, inwhich event it has an alternate selected therefor, (possibly the mostprobable by default). Note that in some implementations it may also bepossible to insert a cursor into an ink word prior to having the worddisplayed as text. In any event, steps 806 and 808 are executed to backup the pointer in the text buffer until it is on an ink word (step 804,described above), or until a space character or the beginning of thedocument is reached (step 808).

If a space character or the beginning of the document is detected atstep 808, then the user's cursor was not within the boundaries of an inkword. In this instance, the pointer is advanced via steps 810, 812 and814 until an ink word is detected or the end of the document is reached.Note that moving forward is only one way the mechanism can proceed, asthe user could instead be prompted, or the search for an ink word canproceed backwards (e.g., by ignoring spaces, and/or by possibly bysearching from the end of the document if the beginning of the documentis reached). If moving forward, when the end of the document is reached,the user can be informed of this via step 816, and optionally allowed tolook for a word with alternates from the start of the document.

If instead the user requesting alternate selection was in the selectionmode at step 800, step 802 moves the pointer to the start of theselection, and then the search starts forward. As represented in FIG. 8,the corresponding pointed-to location in the text buffer is tested foran ink word at step 812. In the selection mode, the pointer is advancedvia steps 810, 812 and 814 until an ink word is detected or the end ofthe selection is reached (which may also coincide with the end of thedocument). If the end of the selection/document is reached, the processmay handle accordingly at step 816, for example, to inform the user,and/or allow the user to have the system continue looking, e.g., beyondthe selected text when in the selection mode, and/or from the beginningof the document when the selection coincides with the end of thedocument.

While walking through the text buffer in the above-identified manner, ifan ink word is detected via step 804 or step 812, the process branchesto step 818. At step 818, the ink word is selected to visually show theuser that a single word is having the menu 80 of alternates provided forit. Note that the ink word may be currently being displayed ashandwritten ink, or as text if it previously had an alternate chosen forit. If text, the ink word data structure tells the alternates handlingmechanism 76 the first character to display and also the number ofcharacters that belong to the ink word and follow it in the text buffer.

Step 820 represents the obtaining of the alternates, e.g., from the inkword. As determined via the Recognized flag in the ink word datastructure, the selected word may or may not have alternates, e.g., bybackground recognition. Thus although not separately shown in FIG. 8 forpurposes of simplicity, as part of step 820, the recognizer 58 may beprovided with ink data including the selected word in order to convertthe word to text including getting the alternates and storing them inthe ink word data structure as generally described above.

Lastly, step 822 represents the providing of the alternates (e.g., menu80) to the user and the handling of the user selection. If the userselects the ink, then the ink is put back if necessary, e.g., when textwas displayed for the word, the Show Recognized flag is cleared so thatink will be displayed, and any trailing characters in the text bufferdeleted. If the user selects a text word, then the Show Recognized flagin the header of the data structure is set, and the characters followingthe first character are inserted into the text buffer. If a text word isalready present and the user selects a different alternate, then thedata structure needs to adjust the offset in the tail structure for theword currently selected, and manipulate the text following the ink wordas needed, e.g., replace, insert or delete letters following the inkword in the text buffer. Note that if the user selects the same textword as one that is already selected, this need not occur. Themanipulation of the text buffer 62 and the ink word data structure 64when the user selects an alternate is described in more detail in theaforementioned U.S. patent applications entitled: “Method and System forMaintaining Alternates in Association with Recognized Words” and “Methodand System for Extending Ink Word Data Structures While MaintainingVersion Compatibility.” The display may then be updated.

FIG. 9 shows an automated process that automatically advances to thenext ink word for a selection of text and/or ink words. FIG. 9 canlogically follow the end of FIG. 8, for example, by ending if in cursormode via step 900 or continuing by moving forward (step 902), or can beindependently run following an “Visit Alternates” command or the like,that for example, selects the entire document (step 901, possibly notmarking it as selected so as to not confuse the user), moves the pointerto the start of the selected text (step 903), and then starts at step904 as represented in FIG. 9. As can be readily appreciated, instead ofactually first selecting the entire document, such a command can simplykeep moving in one direction to provide the menu of alternates for eachappropriate word, one at a time, until the entire document is traversedor some suitable ending point is reached.

Step 904 tests whether the pointer is on an ink word. If not, thepointer is advanced via steps 912 and 902 until an ink word is detectedat step 904 in the next loop or the end of the selection is reached atstep 912 (which may also coincide with the end of the document). If anink word is detected, steps 906, 908 and 910 operate as described abovewith respect to steps 818, 820 and 822 of FIG. 8, i.e., to select theword, obtain its alternates, provide them to the user for selection ofan alternate, and then adjust as necessary for the selection. Step 912continues the process until the end of the selection is reached, therebyenabling a user to automatically select alternates for a plurality ofink words.

Lastly, FIG. 10 represents one way in which words having alternates maybe displayed to a user, by underlining (e.g., wavy, possibly coloredlines) or otherwise highlighting words that have alternates. The usercan toggle such a feature on or off. Moreover, through a slider bar orthe like, the user can adjust a sensitivity to determine when a wordshould be considered as having an alternate. For example, a user couldset a threshold probability so as to only specially treat words ashaving alternates when the most likely word is below a certainpercentage probability. Alternatively, or in addition to a threshold, adifference in the most likely to next most likely word can be used,e.g., ninety-five percent certainty indicates that a word should betreated as not having alternates, or eighty percent if the next mostprobable word is less than ten percent (a seventy percent difference).Note that such probabilities can be used both in displaying differently(FIG. 10) or when automatically searching through a plurality ofselected words to determine which ones have alternates, as describedabove. For example, the flow diagrams can be adjusted to evaluateprobability information before determining whether an ink word should betreated as such. In the example of FIG. 9, the system could thus jumpfrom “Some” to “wards” during alternate selection, even though “of” and“the” may each have alternates. Further, it is feasible to have thesystem automatically select highly probable words as the alternatesinformation is returned by the recognizer, (e.g., in response toforeground recognition), but provide a menu of alternates for words thatare less certain. Also, when the user requests conversion to text, aword with a most-probable choice that achieves some probability level ofcertainty can be considered recognized and selected, with the otherinformation discarded.

As can be seen from the foregoing detailed description, there isprovided a method and system that implements rules to select which wordto provide alternates for to a user; and train the user as to theper-word nature of alternate selection. The method and system are fast,efficient and can be automated over multiple word sets, and can alsoutilize probability information when determining which word to select.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative constructions, certain illustrated embodiments thereof areshown in the drawings and have been described above in detail. It shouldbe understood, however, that there is no intention to limit theinvention to the specific form or forms disclosed, but on the contrary,the intention is to cover all modifications, alternative constructions,and equivalents falling within the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. In a computing device, a method comprising:receiving a request to provide alternates for a word that has alternatesand that is within a set of words containing at least two words thathave alternates, when no particular word that has alternates has beenselected in the set; determining a current editing mode in which thecomputing device is operating with respect to receiving input into thedevice; selecting a word in the set that has alternates as a selectedword based on the current editing mode; utilizing probabilityinformation to determine whether a word in the set that has alternatesassociated therewith will be considered as having alternates forpurposes of providing alternates therefore; and providing alternates forthe selected word.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the current editingmode comprises a cursor mode, and wherein selecting the word compriseslocating a word relative to a cursor position.
 3. The method of claim 2,wherein locating the word relative to the cursor position comprisesdetermining if the cursor position is adjacent a word having alternatesassociated therewith.
 4. The method of claim 2, wherein locating theword relative to the cursor position comprises moving to another wordhaving alternates associated therewith.
 5. The method of claim 2,wherein locating the word relative to the cursor position comprisesdetermining if a cursor that indicates the cursor position is placed ona word having alternates associated therewith.
 6. The method of claim 5,wherein determining if the cursor is placed on a word having alternatesassociated therewith comprises moving a pointer to the beginning of theword.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the current editing modecomprises a selection mode, wherein the set is determined via aselection operation and the set contains at least two words that eachhas its own alternates associated therewith, and wherein selecting theword based on the current editing mode comprises selecting a first wordin the set that has alternates associated therewith.
 8. The method ofclaim 1 further comprising, receiving an alternate choice.
 9. The methodof claim 1 further comprising moving to another word in the set that hasalternates associated therewith.
 10. The method of claim 1, whereinproviding alternates for the selected word includes providing a userinterface.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein the user interfaceprovides an option to select a next word of the set that has alternatesassociated therewith.
 12. The method of claim 10, wherein the userinterface provides an option to select a previous word of the set thathas alternates associated therewith.
 13. The method of claim 10, whereinthe user interface provides an option to select a next word of the setthat has alternates associated therewith, and further comprising,detecting a request to select the next word that has alternatesassociated therewith.
 14. The method of claim 1 wherein the userprovides data corresponding to a sensitivity level for determining fromthe probability information whether a word will be considered as havingalternates associated therewith.
 15. The method of claim 1 fathercomprising, displaying at least part of the set, and modifying thedisplay of each displayed word in the set having alternates associatedtherewith.
 16. The method of claim 15 further comprising, utilizingprobability information to determine whether a word in the set that hasalternates associated therewith will be considered as having alternatesassociated therewith for purposes of modifying the display.
 17. Themethod of claim 16 wherein the user provides data corresponding to asensitivity level for determining from the probability informationwhether a word will be considered as having alternates associatedtherewith.
 18. A computer-readable medium having computer-executableinstructions, comprising: providing a mechanism for enabling a user torequest alternates for words that have alternates associated therewith;receiving a request to provide the alternates for a word within aplurality of words that have alternates associated therewith, when noparticular word of the plurality is identified as being the word forwhich the alternates are requested; determining for which one word ofthe plurality of words the alternates should be provide, includinganalyzing probability information associated with at least some thealternates; and providing the alternates for the one word.
 19. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 18 wherein determining for which oneof the plurality of words the alternates should be provided includesdetermining a current editing mode.
 20. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 19 wherein the current editing mode comprises a cursor mode, andwherein determining for which one of the plurality of words thealternates should be provided includes locating the one word based on acursor position.
 21. The computer-readable medium of claim 19 whereinthe current editing mode comprises a selection mode, and whereindetermining for which one of the plurality of words the alternatesshould be provided includes locating the word based on a starting pointof a selection.
 22. The computer-readable medium of claim 21 whereinlocating the word based on the starting point of the selection includeslocating within the selection the first word having alternates followingthe starting point of the selection.
 23. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 18 further comprising modifying a display to visually indicateeach word within the plurality that has at least one alternateassociated therewith.
 24. The computer-readable medium of claim 18further comprising, modifying a display to visually indicate a wordwithin the plurality that does not have an alternate associatedtherewith that is above a level of recognition certainty.
 25. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 24 wherein the level of recognitioncertainty is user-settable.
 26. The computer-readable medium of claim 24wherein the level of recognition certainty comprises an absoluteprobability level of at least one alternate.
 27. The computer-readablemedium of claim 24 wherein the level of recognition certainty comprisesa relative probability level of at least two alternate.
 28. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 18 further comprising, receiving auser selection of an alternate.
 29. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 18 further comprising, determining that other alternates should beprovided for another word of the plurality of words, and providing theother alternates for the other word.
 30. The computer-readable medium ofclaim 29 wherein determining that the other alternates should beprovided for the other word comprises receiving a navigation command.31. The computer-readable medium of claim 18 further comprising,receiving a user selection of an alternate, determining that otheralternates should be provided for another word of the plurality ofwords, and providing the other alternates for the other word.
 32. In acomputing device, a method comprising: receiving a request to providealternates for a word that has alternates and that is within a set ofwords containing at least two words that have alternates, when noparticular word that has alternates has been selected in the set;determining a current editing mode in which the computing device isoperating with respect to receiving input into the device; selecting aword in the set that has alternates as a selected word based on thecurrent editing mode; providing alternates for the selected word;displaying at least part of the set; utilizing probability informationto determine whether a word in the set that has alternates associatedtherewith will be considered as having alternates associated therewithfor purposes of modifying the display; and modifying the display of eachdisplayed word in the set having alternates associated therewith. 33.The method of claim 32 wherein the user provides data corresponding to asensitivity level for determining from the probability informationwhether a word will be considered as having alternates associatedtherewith.
 34. A computer-readable medium having computer-executableinstructions, comprising: providing a mechanism for enabling a user torequest alternates for words that have alternates associated therewith;receiving a request to provide the alternates for a word within aplurality of words that have alternates associated therewith, when noparticular word of the plurality is identified as being the word forwhich the alternates are requested; determining for which one word ofthe plurality of words the alternates should be provided; and providingthe alternates for the one word; and modifying a display to visuallyindicate a word within the plurality that does not have an alternateassociated therewith that is above a level of recognition certainty. 35.The computer-readable medium of claim 34 wherein the level ofrecognition certainty is user-settable.
 36. The computer-readable mediumof claim 34 wherein the level of recognition certainty comprises anabsolute probability level of at least one alternate.
 37. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 34 wherein the level of recognitioncertainty comprises a relative probability level of at least twoalternates.